N ICEP 
and Ion of Theodoras, fecretary to the emperor Conftantine 
Copronymus. He poffefi'ed excellent natural abilities, 
and a well-informed mind, and became confidential fecre¬ 
tary to the emperor, and his mother Irene. He attended 
in his official capacity at the fecond council of Nice, in the 
year 787, where his talents and influence were zealoufly 
exerted in defence of image-worlhip. Becoming afterwards 
difgufled with the court, he withdrew into retirement at 
a monaftery on the Thracian Bofphorus, but did notenter 
as a member of the religious community. In the year 
806, upon the death of the patriarch Tarafius, he was 
elected his fucceflor in that dignity while he was yet a 
layman. In the year8n, he fent a letter containing a 
confeffion of his faith to pope Leo III. In the year 814, 
an edift having been promulgated by the emperor Leo the 
Armenian, for the fuppreflion of the worfliip of images, 
the patriarch made ufe of all the means in his power 
to prevent it from being carried into execution. Upon 
this, the emperor, finding that neither advice nor admo¬ 
nition had any effeCt in inclining the patriarch to fubmif- 
fion, palled a decree of depofition and banifhment againll 
him in the courfe of the following year. The chief part 
of his exile was fpent in a monaltery which had been 
founded by himfelf in an ifland of the Propontis, where 
lie was confined till his death in the year 828. He is ho¬ 
noured as a confeflor by both the Greek and Latin 
churches. The moftconfiderableof the works written by 
him, is “ An Abridgment of Hiftory,” commencing 
with the death of the emperor Mauritius, and ending with 
the reign of the emprefs Irene. It was firft publifiied at 
Paris by father Petau, in Greek and Latin, with his own 
verfion and notes, 1616, oftavo; and it is inferted in the 
firft; volume of the Corpus Hiftorias Byzantinas, 1648, 
folio; and alfo fubjoined to TheophylaCl Simocatta's Hif¬ 
tory. The next worjc attributed to him, is “ A Chro¬ 
nological Catalogue of all the Patriarchs, Kings, and 
Princes, of the Jews, Kings of Perfiaand Macedon, Roman 
Emperors, &c.” from the beginning of the world to his 
time. It firft appeared in a Latin verfion, by Anaftafius 
the Librarian. The original Greek was firft given by 
Scaliger, at the end of his edition of Eufebius’s Chroni- 
con ; and father James Goar publilhed it, in Greek and 
Latin, at the end of Syncelli Chronicon, 1652, folio. 
Nicephorus was alfo the author of three books which he 
terms “ Antirrhetics,” againll the council held at Con- 
ftuntinople under Conftantine Copronymus, which abo- 
lilhed the ufe of images; of which ample fragments, in 
Greek and Latin, are inferted in the firft and fecond vo¬ 
lumes of father Combefi’s Auftuar. 1648, folio. Of the 
genuinenefs of “ The Stichometry” attributed to our 
author, fome critics have entertained doubts, and in 
particular Dr. Pearl’on, as appears from the firft part of 
his Vindic. Ignatii. However, the voice of the greater 
number, among whom are Fabricius, Cave, Mill, and 
Lardner, is in its favour. Of this piece there are various 
editions, the moll accurate of which are given by Mont- 
faucon, in his Bibl. Coiflin. It contains a catalogue of 
the books of facred Scripture, which is of ufe to lliow 
that the Jewilh canon was generally efteemed facred by 
Chriltians ; and that the other books of the OldTeftament, 
which are now called Apocryphal, were not of equal 
authority, though they were read fometimes in fome 
churches, and often quoted by chriftian writers. It alfo 
affords evidence, that there never were any Chriftian 
writings, efteemed to be of equal authority with thole 
which are now received by us as facred and canonical. 
Many additional particulars concerning the writings of 
this patriarch may be feen in Cave's HiJ’t. Lit. vol. ii. 
NICEPH'ORUS (Blemmida), a learned Greek priell 
and abbot of a monaftery at Mount Athos in the thirteenth 
century, held in high veneration on account of his great 
fan&ity and extraordinary felf-denial. He had been tutor 
to Theodore Lafcaris, who fucceeded John Ducas on the 
imperial throne. In the year 1255, on the death of the 
patriarch Germanus, the emperor was defirous of raifing 
Vol. XVII. No. 1160. 
H O R U S. 4J> 
his old mailer to that dignity ; but this honour Nicepho¬ 
rus lteadily refilled, preferring the peaceful retirement of 
the cloifter to the pomp and grandeur of that exalted 
llation. He was more favourable towards the Latin 
church than any other celebrated Greek during this cen¬ 
tury; and defended fome of its dogmas in oppofition 
to the members of his own communion. It is fuffi- 
ciently apparent, however, from thole very pieces which 
have been brought forward by the Catholics to prove 
his coincidence with them in fentiment, that he dif¬ 
fered widely from them on many points, and particu¬ 
larly that concerning the proceffion of the Holy Ghoft. 
On this fubjeft, two books of his are (till extant, one ad- 
dreffed to Theodore Lafcaris, and the other to James 
archbilhop of Bulgaria, which are preferved in Greek and 
Latin, in the appendix to the firft volume of Oderic Ray- 
nald’s continuation of the Annal. Eccl. of Baronins; 
and alfo in the firft volume of Leo Allatius’s Orthodoxse 
Grascas Script. The laft-mentioned editor, in the fecond 
book of his treatife “ Concerning the Agreement of the 
Greek and Latin Churches,” has alfo inferted, in Greek 
and Latin, a “ Letter” written by Nicephorus, after he 
had, with dilgrace, turned out of the church belonging 
to his monaftery, Marchefina, the miftrefs of the empe¬ 
ror John Ducas, as unworthy of being admitted in to fo holy 
a place. To the fame author is attributed “ An Epitome 
of Logic and Natural Pliilofophy,” publilhed in Greek, at 
Auglburg, i6o5,o£tavo. For the lubjedls of feveral of his 
pieces, yet remaining in MS. in the Vatican, Bavarian, and 
other libraries, the reader may confult Cave's lliJt.Lit.v ol.ii. 
NICEPH'ORUS (Calliftus), furnamed Xanthopulus, 
was a learned monk of Conftantinople, who flourilhed in 
the fourteenth century. He was a ltudious man, and for 
many years employed himfelf in the diligent perulal of 
the books in the celebrated library belonging to the 
church of St. Sophia. When young, he undertook to 
write, in the Greek language, a new “ Ecclefiaftical 
Hiftory,” collefted, as he informs us, out of Eulebius of 
Caefarea, Socrates, Sozomen, Philoftorgius, Theodoret, 
Evagrius, and others ; and he completed his work before 
he was quite thirty-fix years of age. It was addreffed to 
the emperor Andronicus Palasologus the elder, and di¬ 
vided into twenty-three books, extending from the birth 
of Chriftto the death of the emperor Leo the Philofopher, 
in the year 911. Only eighteen of thefe books have 
reached our times, which bring down the hiftory to the 
death of the emperor Phocas, or the year 1610. On ac¬ 
count of the elegance with which it is written, the author 
has been honoured with the title of the ecclejiajlical Thu¬ 
cydides by fome critics; while others, from the marvel¬ 
lous tales and fables which are interfperfed in it, have 
given him the name of the theological Pliny. The only 
manufeript of it yet difcovered belonged to the library of 
Matthias king of Hungary at Buda, where, on the capture 
of that city, it became part of the plunder collected by a 
Turk, w’ho carried it to Conftantinople. Here it was 
purchafed at a public fale by a Chriftian; and, after pafs- 
ing through different hands, was added to the imperial 
library at Vienna. It was firft given to the public in a 
Latin verfion by John Lange, printed at Baiil in 1553, 
folio; and it was republiflied by him in 1561, with notes. 
It underwent fubfequent impreffions at Antwerp, Paris, 
and Frankfort. In 1630, Fronton du Due publilhed an 
edition of it, in Greek and Latin, at Paris, in 2 vols. 
folio, adopting the verfion of Lange, and correcting the 
notes. Belides this work, Nicephorus was the author of 
“A Catalogue of the Conftantinopolitan Emperors,” and 
another “ Catalogue of the Conftantinopolitan Patriarchs, 
both in Greek iambic verfe, which father Labbe has pub¬ 
lilhed in the preliminary obfervations prefixed to his trea¬ 
tife De Script. Byzantin. and an “ Abridgement of the 
Scriptures,” in Greek iambic verfe, which was printed at 
Bafil, in 1536, 8vo. alfo bears his name. To the lame au¬ 
thor our countryman Dr. Hody has attributed a little 
piece, which he publilhed at Oxford, in Greek and Latin, 
O during 
